Weight Lifting

hey jchen, you are gonna get burnt by this thread, there are a lot weight lifting threads in the other forum sections.

 

not worried about you complaining. Yes I lift weights, I think it helps, combining it with some cardio and it's good training. Not sure about the routines, I just use all the machines at the gym and ~20 reps in 2-3 sets w/ each. Before weight training, I'd light jog 10 min to warm up, and after weights, I'd do some cardio for another 30-60 min depending on how much time I got. This is the non-badminton day routine, and everyday I do some sit-ups, push-ups, and free weights w/ the arms.

 

do not use machines. for best results use proper form and do a high number of reps with free weights. if you use machines, you might as well just lift cans.

 

I used to do 10 pound free-weights - for air rifle though, not badminton. That's my official sport - if you count it as a sport. When I go to the gym, I usually do all the machines - except the threadmill (but that's not counted as weights). I have an aversion to threadmills coz back in my country, there's a branch of the California Fitness Center and all these poseurs pay friggin' high membership fees and run on the threadmill BESIDE A GLASS WINDOW so everyone passing by can see them. I used to refer to them as "hamsters". Besides, if I wanted to run, I would do so on the road or track, not on some machine.

 

I seriously can't see why people must use machines other than the fact they would have poor form or are intimidated by the heavy lifters in the free weights. In an article I read a while back, it stated that machines actually prohibit development because of the lack of form and intensity. I also see the other side of the arguement that beginners should not use free weights without proper supervision for saftey reasons. But I do endorse free weights as oppose to machines just because free weights has more advantages.

 

Free weights are your best option unless your recovering from an injury then your best choice is the medicine balls and stretch balls and teather bands. Free weights cause you to use support muscles that is very important in an in game situation. Some people think bulkiness accompanies free weights however if you do high reps like 20-25 reps of low weights and keep a good stretching routine you're muscles will develop into long powerful muscles that are not hindered by bulkiness. Hope this helps. If you guys need more help about weight lifting email me or pm me. I did alot of training as a football, track and badminton athlete in high school.

Cheers,
Nick

 

It's all about form. I laugh at the varsity rowers in my gym. They train with huge number of reps, but little sets. However, they have terrible form and must do twice as much as me to get a decent workout. Form is most important.

 

Exercise balls + free weights are the best (and cheapest!) combination, imho. That's what I used when I still worked out. Working on the machines, you can use larger weights though, which sounds more impressive when you are bragging On the inverse-squat machine, i can manage 800 pounds (12x3). With free-weights on my shoulder, I can barely do 100 lb.

 

glad everything is working out jchen, kudos to you.

 

JChen99

If you want to recover fast from workouts, buy youself a tub of Whey and have 40 of protein right after working out. Your muscles will feel "fresh" after a few hours! All whey is supposed to have the same nutritional value but the quality does make a big difference in recovery time imho. I find that ultrafiltered whey is much better than ion exchange whey. EAS Delux Protein Pack is amazing too. It really makes you feel like superman... like you can workout 10 hours a day.

Btw... instead of using the weight bence, do your exercises on an exercise ball. you'll be working out the stabalizer muscles too, so you're less likely to be injured on the courts.

 

Yea Whey is freakin expensive BUT it's actually cheaper than you think. Compared to how well whey is absorbed by the body, it's actually a cheaper source of protein than chicken or eggs or beef etc. If you get the Pro Performance Ultrafiltered whey 2 pack (330g each) that's only about 25$ with a GNC discount card. That stuff is very high quality, and will last you a month or more. It's 90% cheaper than buying a precooked whole chicken everyday... which is what i used to do. You get the same amount of protein, but its absorbed faster, and you get an immune system boost. So if you calculate everything out, whey = cheap!

Exercise ball + weight set can be had at Walmart for $50 CDN. There is no muscle you can't workout with this set, and all in the comfort of your home . I think the two biggesy advantages are speed (it's easier to go from one exercise to the next with the ball and free weights) and strengthening the stabalizing muscles (less injury, and save time: you can workout your abs, back, and calves while doing benchpress!)

 

Welcome .

Of all the excerise equipment I have ever used, I'm most impressed with the exercise ball + cast-iron dumbell combo. Nothing is more verstile or as effective. Even benchpressess are so much better imho that I don't even use my weight bench or bar bells anymore. I'm even saving time too since I can work on my upper leg (quads) abs (front and side) well doing upper arm (biceps and delts) all from a single position, and usually more than 2 muscle groups at once.

If you do decide to get a set, check the net especially mensfitness.com) for great workouts as the methods given on the instruction sheet are pretty old.

 

jchen

what kind of exercises do you do? I only have lil 10-15 lb free weights. Just lil dumb bells for my skinny arms. I would like to look a bit buff in the upper region and a lot more tone. But dont really know what kinds of exercises im supposed to do. All i know is curls and that's mainly it... I need a lot of work with my biceps and triceps.